As Far As The Skurj Go

Post by **lurch** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:26 am

..In the gallery of Donaldson's Monsters where do the Skurj fit in? I find them hanging rite next to The Lurker in terrorfrying, perhaps even elevated ,but after seeing how they are undone,,or,," contradicted" they loose some of their ,,uumm,, bite(?)..The Kresh still seem to make the hair on the back of the neck rise up, if I had any there, being the beasts who can be bested by only an out and out beating to oblivion,,I mean,,i don't recall any theurgy besides run like h e l l that defeats them. The kresh remain the least and last i'd want to meet in a dark alley.

Kinda neat how the author uses the Skurj's own appetite to waylay them just enough for Liand to realize the natural contra of fire,,water! yea, the Skurj scarte me but probably like kasternessen,,am a little let down by how they were defeated by the cunning application of knowledge..It would be cool,, if somewhere in a future Last Chronicles,, that scene was revisted and the Skurj where frozen in rock like the cooled magma of a volcano..maybe,,The Garden of the Skurj Wussy's.

Post by **Aleksandr** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 4:35 pm

Was anyone else reminded of Dune sandworms a little by the skurj? They're smaller, and hotter, and don't exude a psychic spice, but I definitely thought of sandworms when SRD described their teeth, and then again when they were driven off by water.

Post by **lurch** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 4:43 pm

yeaa..theres something so classically terrifying about scything teeth

Post by **Vain19** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:08 am

I'm just hoping for a skurj-sandgorgon showdown.

Post by **Starkin** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:28 am

Vain19 wrote:I'm just hoping for a skurj-sandgorgon showdown.

Oooh, that would be wicked!

Post by **emotional leper** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:53 pm

That would be horrible! The Skurj multiply like mad when killed, and the Sandgorgons wouldn't know when to stop!

Post by **Seven Words** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:43 pm

skurj multiply by eating the deceased....but Sandgorgons, not so much don't know when to stop,they don't know HOW to stop. They kill a few...more come, some of whom stop to grab a meal. Sandgorgon squishes. It's a question of can the Sandgorgons splatter Skurj faster than they can eat the dead ones and spawn? I'd have to say Sandgorgons win.

Post by **emotional leper** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:50 pm

I think the Skurj could just eat the Sandgorgons.

Post by **dlbpharmd** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:34 pm

It would be a helluva fight, I hope we get to see that!

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:59 pm

I was let down with the Skurj too.
I expected more somehow.

Oh wow, "Fire Worms", yeah it's the end of the Earth because of worms....

Post by **emotional leper** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:30 pm

High Lord Tolkien wrote:I was let down with the Skurj too.
I expected more somehow.

Oh wow, "Fire Worms", yeah it's the end of the Earth because of worms....

Atleast they're not water-worms.

Maybe the Haruchai will start worshiping the Worms.

Shai-halud sounds like a nice name for a god-as-a-worm.

Post by **lurch** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:11 am

My goodness,,an endless ,, self perpetuating rondele' of death and creation at the hands of blind rage and avarice appetite.....alls needed to the recipe' would be a caesure,,apply metaphor to taste..

Post by **The Dreaming** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:54 am

To me, nothin gets cooler than the Cockroach Zombies from MN.

Was anyone else thinking that all they would have to do to kill the skurj would be to throw some Sheep S*** on them?

Post by **Creator** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:51 pm

I still like the idea of drowning them in tequilla!

Post by **earthbrah** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:13 pm

lurch wrote

maybe,,The Garden of the Skurj Wussy's.

Awesome.

Seven Words wrote:

They kill a few...more come, some of whom stop to grab a meal. Sandgorgon squishes.

Awesomer.

Post by **wayfriend** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 3:15 pm

lurch wrote:..In the gallery of Donaldson's Monsters where do the Skurj fit in?

I wrote this in the Runes dissection and it seems to be an answer to your question:

As a creation, these monsters fit the Land so well. They partake of the Nicor, and the Worm of the World’s End. They borrow a little from the fire-lions of Mount Thunder. They inherit a little character from the fertility of the Sunbane. They remind us of the fire “born among the foundations of the firmament” which jeopardized the Earth at Kastenessen’s Appointment. They are so appropriate that they’re scary.

Post by **doma** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:09 pm

The Skurj had a lot of build up. I was expecting to be freaked out. There were some creepy moments - but certainly not on lurker level.

Coolest skurj moment: "They are passing beneith us." *goosebumps*
Weak skurj moment: "See, you toss rocks into their mouths and that stalls them for a second" *videogameish*

my color chart for Donaldson monsters:

Red: Lurker, ghoul children, Roger. Scary. Keeps you from sleeping for a few days and even then you have to leave a light on. Most of your party is gonna die. Horribly.

Orange: Ravers, possessed Giants, Kresh Attack. Skurj. Sandgorgon. High level of slaughter comming your way ... better run! You're gonna lose a lot of villagers and several powerful companions (Haruchi, giants, odd Lord) at the least.

Yellow: Ur-Viles. Insequent. Each is creepy (esp with all their hidden lore) but ... you'll probably survive. Swing a staff, yell some power words, and make for the exit.

Green: Foul, drool. They talk big, and they command armies from afar, but if you get stuck up close to one of these guys you just have to laugh and the sea falls in on them, or throw a high lord at Drool, etc.

Blue: Worm of World's End. Lots of dire predictions - but you know it ain't gonna happen. Probably purs in its sleep like a kitten. Yawn.

Post by **Revan** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:24 pm

I quite liked the Skurj up until the point where rain defeated them; pretty much erasing them as a threat to our characters while they have even a little power.

However I imagine that the skurj can do much damage elsewhere and the characters wouldn't be able to stop them from a large distance; so they aren't useless.

Post by **earthbrah** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:45 pm

Well, I guess I was a little more impressed with these creatures than some of you were. Though they didn't exceed any of the build-up made to them, they more than me that build-up, IMO.

I like the fact that the rain can seriously hinder them. It being a natural phenomenon, it not only makes sense, it gives mortals like Liand a chance to fight them even with his Sun Stone.

Post by **Revan** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:49 pm

earthbrah wrote:Well, I guess I was a little more impressed with these creatures than some of you were. Though they didn't exceed any of the build-up made to them, they more than me that build-up, IMO.

I like the fact that the rain can seriously hinder them. It being a natural phenomenon, it not only makes sense, it gives mortals like Liand a chance to fight them even with his Sun Stone.

I understand it but never liked it that much; after all; being so easily defeated doesn't make them much of a threat.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

As Far As The Skurj Go

As Far As The Skurj Go

Re: As Far As The Skurj Go